


A Man and His Mabari

by ArchangelEquinox



Series: Lights, Camera, Inquisition [4]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Reality Show, Dogs, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-05
Updated: 2020-05-05
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:26:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,312
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24029590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArchangelEquinox/pseuds/ArchangelEquinox
Summary: "Cullen smiled in spite of himself. He glanced around, spotting a leash hanging from a key rack near the door. 'Want to go for a run?'The dog popped up and started pacing in small circles. He figured that meant yes."
Relationships: Cullen Rutherford/Female Trevelyan, Female Inquisitor/Cullen Rutherford
Series: Lights, Camera, Inquisition [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/470548
Comments: 1
Kudos: 13





	A Man and His Mabari

The dog was waiting expectantly when Cullen opened the bedroom door. He understood, it seemed, that someone would be up early to walk him, even if that someone wasn’t Talia. 

Cullen studied him for a long moment. He had the same brindled brown coat of all the dogs his mother had raised, the same wide eyes and alert ears he remembered so very well. His childhood had been filled with his and Branson’s begging for a pup of their very own -- completely disregarding that they had helped socialize every litter of puppies to grace the Rutherford home. Bran had tried to hide one once, an adorably chubby thing that had yipped and barked under his bed under their mother was forced to rescue it. 

Perhaps Bran had a dog of his own now; perhaps he’d found a puppy for his son. Something ached deep in his chest at the thought. He hadn’t seen his brother in years to know for sure. 

In an effort to keep the thought at bay, Cullen swallowed hard and tried to remember the dog’s name. “Hello, Malcolm,” he said eventually. He was reasonably sure that was correct. 

The dog tilted his head but didn’t move. 

Close, but not quite right, then. Rubbing the back of his neck, Cullen wracked his brain for what Talia had told him months before; they’d been sitting on a couch after just days on the show, long before he’d been in the hospital or she had snuck into the showers or the Chantry had exploded. All of those memories stood out in stark contrast to the night they’d talked about Cullen’s mother, and how Talia had purchased a puppy from her, a companion she’d named - 

“Doc!” he exclaimed, triumphant, before abruptly remembering that Talia was still asleep and snapping his mouth shut. 

Across the room, the dog perked up. A stumpy tail wagged, sending his haunches wiggling with excitement. There was rarely better confirmation than that. 

“Good morning, Doc,” Cullen repeated, quieter this time. He crouched down, mindful not to seem intimidating. They’d met the day before, of course, but the dog stood nearly to his hips with a toothy grin to match. Without his mistress around, Cullen didn’t want him to decide he was suddenly the enemy. 

Doc eyed him cautiously, tail still wagging. He didn’t move. 

Slowly Cullen extended one hand in offering for the dog to sniff. When this earned no response, he leaned forward and propped himself up on his fist, a small smile crossing his face. What a future he’d never have imagined as a child in Honnleath: on his hands and knees in his girlfriend’s apartment in Val Royeaux, begging attention from a dog. 

Said dog suddenly lunged forward and slobbered kisses all over his face. Cullen cringed, eyes scrunched closed, and tried to keep his hair out of reach. When the assault finally ceased, he scrubbed one hand over his face and risked a peek. 

Doc grinned, tongue lolling out of one side of his mouth. He looked quite pleased with himself. 

“Are we friends now, then,” Cullen asked. He wiped his hand on his thigh - he’d forgotten how much mabari drooled, it seemed. The dog  _ boofed  _ once in response and shoved his face into Cullen’s hand. With a grin himself, he scratched the dog’s pointed ears. “Alright, that settles it.” With a sigh, he climbed to his feet and stretched. Doc settled onto the floor, muzzle on his toes. He whined once. 

Cullen smiled in spite of himself. He glanced around, spotting a leash hanging from a key rack near the door. “Want to go for a run?” 

The dog popped up and started pacing in small circles. He figured that meant yes. 

\--- 

The leash tugged, and Cullen found himself veering off the path for the third time. He managed to stay upright, unlike the first time Doc had gone investigating and pulled him off his unsuspecting feet. Mud stained and not even a mile into the run, he groaned. 

The dog sniffed enthusiastically at a bush, then a series of flowers, then at Cullen’s shoes before he trotted down the path. The leash dragged behind. 

“You know,” Cullen began, watching the dog’s stubby tail wag. “Running partners are supposed to pace each other. That means you’re supposed to stay with me.” 

The dog barked once and ran in a circle around him, twisting the leash around Cullen’s ankles. 

Cullen frowned. “This is not quite what I had in mind.” 

With another bark, Doc tugged at his leash. Cullen, in an attempt to tug back, overbalanced and ended up on his arse. Thankfully he landed in the grass and not the mud this time. 

Cullen reached down to untangle the leash as Doc hovered, pushing his nose under the nylon to try to help. After a few minutes, Cullen chuckled and gave up, letting the dog play around until he’d somehow untied one of Cullen’s shoes instead. 

“Maker’s breath, how did you even…” He shook his head and scratched the dog’s ears again, shoving him away playfully. “How about you sit and I get us sorted out, hm?” Doc immediately sat down and waited, tail still wagging.

Cullen considered that he hadn’t even thought to try any actual commands until that moment. Perhaps that would have been a smarter strategy. “All right, that’s on me,” he said, pointing a finger at Doc. Doc gave him a doggy grin and licked his hand. 

Once he’d straightened out the leash and re-tied his shoes, Cullen leaned back on his hands. The park was empty at this time of the morning, the air cool as he took a deep breath. Before long, the streets would fill with people on their way to work and tourists swarming the market, but for now, everything around them was peaceful. 

It occurred to him that he would have liked to have Talia beside him, but her dog was still a welcome companion in her absence. 

“Come here,” he told Doc, beckoning the dog closer. He plopped himself in Cullen’s lap, enormous head on his thigh in a bid for pets. “I always wanted a mabari,” he murmured, letting his hand drift across the dog’s back. “My mum raised them when I was a child, but they always found homes.” Doc looked up at him, all sad puppy eyes, and whined. “I still got to play with them, don’t you worry.”

Doc rolled over, throwing his paws in the air as an invitation to scratch his belly. Cullen obliged. “I was surprised to find you were one of my mum’s. It’s nice to know that she knew Talia in some way.” He stared off into space, hand still rubbing idly at the dog’s short fur. Never in his life had he expected to find someone he might have wanted to introduce to his parents, and now that he had, the opportunity had long since passed. The comfort that Martha Rutherford had liked and trusted Talia enough to sell her one of her beloved mabari was a strange sort of approval, but approval nonetheless. 

They relaxed in silence for a few minutes before Doc sprang to his feet and mouthed at the leash. Cullen grinned at him. “Ready to continue our run?” 

The dog barked. Reassured, Cullen stood and brushed the dirt from his shorts. 

“Can you stay with me this time?” 

With another bark, Doc positioned himself at Cullen’s side, leash hanging just loose enough between them to suggest training that the dog had until now been conveniently ignoring. 

“I’m watching you,” Cullen told him, and with a smile and a final scratch, they set off again. 

\--- 

The rest of the run went quite smoothly - until Doc saw a squirrel and took off after it. 

Cullen maintained his grip on the leash just long enough to be pulled off the path into the bushes that time. 

\--- 

Talia was sitting at a tiny kitchen table when Cullen and Doc finally returned. She took one look at the dirt in Cullen’s sweaty hair and the giant stick clasped in Doc’s jaws and burst out laughing. 

“I see you two had fun.” Doc barked once around the stick in clear agreement. 

Cullen, on the other hand, was not as amused. “He refused to leave his prize,” he grumbled, gesturing vaguely at the dog. “I tried to take it, and I… lost.” He bent to unclip the leash, and Doc bounded to Talia the moment he was free. Grinning, she cupped his doggy face and planted a kiss on his nose. 

“Oh, you were being mean to poor Cully, weren’t you Doc,” she teased, voice pitched high and silly. Cullen picked at his filthy shirt, grumbling under his breath. “That’s a bit rude, you know,” she continued. Cullen looked up abruptly before realizing she was still talking to the dog. 

“He’s our guest, you should be nice to him.” Doc whined and put a paw on her pajama-clad knee. “No, he’s all muddy, just like the first time you played with Will. You should have better manners.” The dog gave a tiny bark, looking for all the world like he was ashamed as his ears drooped. Talia gestured toward Cullen. “Go on.” 

Cullen watched with amazement as the dog padded over to him, head hanging and ears flat. The stick was deposited as his feet before Doc lay down and rolled over, paws in the air. When Cullen didn’t move, the dog whined. 

Across the room, Talia sipped her coffee as she watched, mug barely hiding a smirk. “He’s saying sorry,” she explained when Cullen sent a questioning look her way. 

“He understood all that?” 

Talia shrugged. “Mostly likely he heard ‘blah blah blah Doc,’ but he knows better.” Cullen glanced down to where the dog still lay at his feet, motionless except for his stubby wagging tail. 

“Um… How do I…” It was a silly question, he realized, and he crouched to rub the dog’s belly. Doc gave a happy little yip before he flipped over and ran back to Talia, trotting in cheerful circles around her chair. 

She glanced down at him. “Oh, that’s it, you’re friends now?” Doc barked, but Talia looked skeptical. “I’ve got my eye on you, Doc.” She patted his head once before depositing the mug on the table and turning her attention to Cullen. “Really though, how was the run? You didn’t have to take him with you.”

Despite their mishaps, Cullen found that he didn’t mind, and he said as much. “It was perhaps more adventure than I usually get first thing in the morning,” he hedged carefully as he stepped into her kitchen and filled a glass of water. Talia wrinkled her nose. 

“You ok? You look a bit beaten up.” 

“Just mud, mostly,” he answered. 

To his surprise, she looked quite relieved. “Oh good. He dragged Will through a pond and a tennis court last time, so maybe he likes you.” Doc, who had taken up residence on his bed in the corner, barked in agreement. 

“Is that a yes,” Cullen asked, opening the fridge. He studied its contents, not really knowing what he wanted. 

“Sure is,” Talia answered from beside him. He glanced over; he hadn’t heard her get up. “What’re you looking for?” She tucked herself against his side, one arm around his waist, and peeked into the fridge. 

With a shrug, Cullen pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. Her hair was still damp, as though she was fresh from the shower. “Do you have apples?” 

“Bottom drawer.” She squeezed his side before ambling away to refill her coffee. “Hey, you can share with Doc!” Across the room, the dog chuffed. 

Talia shot him a grin. “He loves apples.” She plopped herself down on the couch, patting the cushion beside her. Cullen hesitated - he was barely a bite into an apple and still covered in sweat and dirt. He’d only dirty everything up if he… oh. The dog climbed up beside her, one paw on her arm as he strained to lick her cheek. Talia cringed away, trying to protect her coffee even though she was laughing and giving him scritches with her free hand. Doc seemed to grin right back at her. 

Cullen watched, a quiet smile on his face. Standing in Talia’s apartment, fresh back from a run and listening to her giggle while the dog pawed at her, soothed something bitter and raw inside him, turned it soft and gentle instead. 

There was peace here, warmth.  _ Love _ . 

On instinct alone, Cullen whistled. The dog perked up instantly, tongue still lolling out, before he bounded over and sat neatly at Cullen’s feet. Talia stretched herself out on the couch to watch. 

“Want an apple?” he asked the dog seriously. Doc whined and fidgeted but didn’t break form. Cullen grinned. 

“Apple seeds are bad for dogs,” Talia called. 

Cullen and Doc exchanged looks. Cullen nodded. “Come on then.” They headed to the kitchen together, this time in search of a knife so they could share. 

“Hey Cullen?” Talia asked. 

“Hm?” He sliced the apple up quickly, tossing a piece to Doc. The dog snapped it out of the air, stubby tail going wild. 

“Want to go out and grab breakfast? There’s a cute cafe down the street with great pastries.” 

By now, the sweat in his hair was starting to itch. “I should probably shower,” he told her, crunching a piece of apple. Sitting pretty next to him, Doc raised a paw to politely beg another slice. 

“No rush,” she told him. There was some rustling from the living room, and despite the temptation of more apples, Doc abandoned Cullen to go snuggle on the couch with his mistress. Cullen watched him go, still smiling. 

An idea struck him. “Hey Talia? About breakfast…” 

“Yeah?” 

“Can Doc come with us?” 


End file.
